Policy of Truth
by TodayWasADayJustLikeAnyOther
Summary: Lorelai and Chris end up with a daughter after sleeping together during the Luke/Lorelai break-up fiasco. Chris screws things up once again but will their family be able to work it out or is there someone else that's supposed to be in the picture?
1. The Ice is Getting Thinner

"Dad...dad...daaaaddddyyyy," three year old Haddie Victoria Gilmore-Hayden whispered, "I'm getting pissed off."

"What did you just say to me?" Christopher asked tiredly, his voice barely above a whisper. He peaked at the clock on the nightstand beside him. The evil numbers 6:00 blared back menacingly at him. Great, his one day off in 2 weeks...

"I said I am getting pissed off, I am hungry," Haddie whined as she tried to climb up onto the bed, struggling to pull herself up. Christopher closed his eyes, desperately wishing for just another hour of sleep. Haddie smiled as she successfully stood up on the mattress near Christopher's feet and promptly sat on his leg, and began poking his stomach.

"Okay, okay I'm up," Christopher said sitting up. He set Haddie on the floor, then began shuffling towards the door, "What do you want for breakfast?"

"Ice!" Haddie squealed running towards the stairs which led to the kitchen.

"Seriously?" Christopher asked walking after her tiredly.

"Yes, seriously," Haddie replied, as if her father had just asked her the most ridiculous question in the world.

Christopher picked Haddie up and carried her down the stairs into the messy kitchen.

"Hello," Gigi greeted the two while looking up from her coloring book.

"Hey kiddo, good morning," Christopher said.

"Why are you eating ice?" Gigi asked, glancing at Haddie, who was happily sitting on the floor with a big glass of ice.

"It's weird water," Haddie smiled back at her as she scooped up a handful and began sucking noisily on it.

"What do you want Gigi?" Christopher asked, as he turned the coffee pot on.

"Um...some fruit loops," Gigi said while barely breaking her concentration from her coloring.

"Good choice," Chris replied, as he grabbed a bowl for Gigi's cereal.

"Haddie!" they could all hear Lorelai shout from the top of the stairs, "Come and get dressed. You too Gigi! Your mom is going to be here in an hour and she hates it when you are late!"

"Get going," Chris said, nudging Haddie with his foot. She in return glared at him.

"That's just gross," she said staring at his foot.

"You need to go see mommy," Chris said sternly.

"Nope," Haddie replied annoyed, "I need my ice first."

"Take your ice with you, go. Now." Christopher rolled his eyes at his little girl. She knew which buttons to press to get on his nerves within a matter of minutes.

Upstairs, Lorelai had to wrestle a determined Haddie into a little blue dress that Emily had bought her. There was a DAR meeting at the Dragonfly Inn that afternoon and Haddie was spending the day with Lorelai, while Christopher enjoyed a day off to himself. Lorelai knew it was worth putting up with a pouting three year old over a pouting grandmother. Then came the battle of the hair. Lorelai and Christopher both couldn't understand why it was such a huge surprise that hair needed to be brushed every morning but Haddie would not come to terms with the situation. Bribery was a must with this child, mainly in the forms of cookies.

By seven AM, Lorelai and Haddie were in the car off to the Inn, Gigi was off with her mother and Christopher was getting some peace and quiet. Something he hadn't had in a very long time.

Haddie squealed with excitement upon seeing the Inn. The place was a castle to the little girl and she took great joy in pestering Michel.

"Hey bug!" Sookie smiled as Lorelai and Haddie buzzed into the kitchen.

"Hi dude," Haddie smiled in return.

"Did you already eat this morning goofball?" Sookie questioned.

"Are you questioning whether or not I forgot to feed my daughter this morning?" Lorelai asked, feigning offence, "If so…the answer is…aw shoot. You didn't eat did you?"

"I had the ice," Haddie shrugged.

"Ice? You fed your three year old frozen water for a meal. Way to build up proper body image!" Sookie shook her head laughing.

"Chris probably gave her a cup filled with ice. She loves it for some reason. He usually chooses not to argue with her. She's fairly feisty if you haven't noticed and he isn't really one to be noted at father of the year," Lorelai responded.

Haddie's eyes went big as Michel came around the corner. Bothering him was her favourite game.

"Oh yay, she is here," Michel scoffed.

"Meee Shell," Haddie said, causing Lorelai and Sookie to giggle at the over pronunciation of his name.

"So, what is the plan for today?" Michel asked, ignoring the small child.

"There's a couple of boxes near the front desk that need to be unpacked as soon as possible," Lorelai smiled brightly, hinting for Michel to get on it.

"Oh right, the monster…I mean your lovely mother, is here today isn't she?" Michel asked.

"Yes, Emily Gilmore in all her glory," Lorelai smiled tightly, "So you handle the boxes, and maybe Haddie can help you pack stuff around."

"Today is just fantastic," Michel said grumpily.

About an hour later Lorelai walked over to the front desk to find the two boxes still sitting there. Granted they were empty but…

"Hello?" Lorelai called out. "Where is everyone?" It is never this quite. Ever.

"HI!" Haddie exclaimed popping up out of a box that was placed in the middle of the room.

"What ARE you doing?" Lorelai laughed at her daughter.

"We're being box buddies mom!" Haddie said, as she tried to climb out of her cardboard cage.

"Wow, that seems like fun, where's Michel?" Lorelai asked, looking around the room and down the hall.

Haddie smiled evilly, as she pointed to the box the was near beside the desk.

"I'm stuck," Michel said grouchily. Lorelai could barely contain her laughter as she peered into the box. Michel's foot was by his head, and it looked like his arm was stuck under his butt.

"What were you doing?" Lorelai laughed.

"Your devil spawn tricked me. There was nothing at the bottom! She tickled my legs when I was bent over. I stumbled and fell and would she help me out? Noooo," Michel said angrily. "She decided to try it for herself! Will you please help me out of the mess?"

"Fine," Lorelai said. Michel impatiently waited as Lorelai searched for a pair of scissors. Once she returned, she began cutting open the sides of the boxes. She could hear Haddie gasp.

"Mommy! You are killing Joseph" Haddie whispered loudly.

"What is a Joseph?" Michel spat.

"I am guessing the box. Little kids often name the things they are fond of," Lorelai smirked.

"I am fond of the box. It's a Michel eater!" Haddie laughed.

"I can't wait until the day I find something that eats Haddies," Michel grumbled as he dusted himself off.

That night Christopher and Lorelai sat in the living room, purposely eavesdropping on Haddie and Rory's phone call. The two had a ritual to talk about their days at least two times a week.

"Don't you wish we were that innocent?" Lorelai asked Christopher laughing, after Haddie had finished telling Rory about her new "boyfriend" Dylan, the sixteen-year old stock boy at Taylor's market. She had describe him as "a manly man who can reach everything" and that he looked "just like Harry Potter if he was American."

"I kind of wish she was a little more innocent. I thought the love obsessions didn't come until the double digit ages," Christopher sighed.

"We Gilmore girls start early," Lorelai said cheekily.

"I should've known," Christopher said shaking his head.

"Hey now," Lorelai poked him in the chest, "You started that train buddy."

The next morning Christopher left for work, and Lorelai slept in until Haddie woke up, which was thankfully at eight. They spent a quite morning watching Pippi Longstocking, until Haddie got restless, so they went for a walk around the neighbourhood.

"Hi!" Haddie shouted to a seemingly random stranger.

"What did I tell you, no talking to strangers Hadds," Lorelai said in her best mom voice.

"She isn't a stranger mummy," Haddie, being cocky, said back, "She is daddy's friend."

"What's her name?" Lorelai asked.

"Um, I think it is Julia," Haddie thought out loud, "Let's see..JULIAAAAAAA."

The woman looked at the family.

"Yep, her name is Julia," Haddie concluded.

"Hi Miss Haddie!" she said, as she walked over the them, "Who is this?"

"This is my mommy," Haddie replied smiling.

"Oh, how is that possible?" Julia asked looking somewhat afraid.

"What?" Lorelai asked, confused.

"Are you Christopher's new girlfriend?" Julia asked, confused as well.

"What are you talking about?" Lorelai asked suspiciously.

"Well, Christopher told me that Haddie and Gigi's mother passed away, shortly after Haddie was born," Julia said.

"He did, did he.." Lorelai said trying not to sound completely pissed off.

"I am guessing he completely lied, are you too still together?" Julia asked, trying to make sense of the situation.

"Yes, we have been married for almost 4 years." Lorelai said solemnly.

"I've never seen you here before," Julia said, "I'm truly sorry about all of this."

"I work, a lot, especially lately, and I'm sorry about all of this too," Lorelai said awkwardly.

That night Lorelai stayed up late, waiting until Christopher came home from work. When he opened the front door he found her sitting on the stairs by the coat closet.

"You didn't have to stay up," Christopher smiled, "I stopped by the pub."

"With who? Julia?" Lorelai asked sleepily looking up into Christopher's eyes.

"You met Julia today?" Chris said quietly looking away.

"I'm dead?" Lorelai asked.

"I-uh- I," Christopher started looking at the floor.

"Why?" Lorelai asked, "I know I'm not home a lot and I haven't been the perfect wife or girlfriend, but we have three beautiful girls, we've gone through almost 4 years of marriage, out anniversary is in 2 months, we have a house, a car together, we have a real family Christopher. Something you had wanted for so long! How could you do this to me? To Haddie? To Rory? To Gigi? Are you that selfish? Why am I dead?" Lorelai's words took off.

"I don't know," Christopher replied simply.

"Really? That's all you've got. You don't know? Do you want me to be dead?" Lorelai asked standing up and leaning against the wall.

"No, of course not, how can you ask me that?" Christopher asked raising his voice.

"How can you tell a hot young blonde women that, and expect me not to even care?" Lorelai shot back, her voice also rising.

"Look forget it, it doesn't mean anything," Chris said, making his way for the stairs.

"CHRISTOPHER!" Lorelai yelled, not realizing how loud her voice was.

"WHAT?" He yelled back forcefully.

"Do not walk away from me," Lorelai replied, "I want to know. Why are you telling women that I am dead? Are you cheating on me? Are you going to?"

"No, why, how, I can't, you know what, I thought you actually trusted me now, but I guess I was wrong," Chris said angrily.

"Don't try and make me seem like the bad guy here Chris, you can't expect me to find out you are talking to girls telling them I'm dead, and have me not even be a tad bit worried about our relationship," Lorelai said tears welling in her eyes.

"Daddy?" they could hear Haddie ask meekly, "Are you in trouble?"

They looked up to see Haddie peaking around the corner from the top of the stairs, looking as if she had been crying.

"Yes, I am," Christopher said," I'm getting a timeout, it'll be okay though. Go to sleep."

"Okay, stop your yelling please," Haddie said pursing her lips together, looking exactly like her mother.

"Okay," Lorelai and Chris said together.

"I'm going to bed," Lorelai said, jogging up the stairs, "You can stay on the couch."

"Fine," Christopher said, walking into the living room, and flopping onto his new bed.


	2. Drunks, Lovers, Sinners and Saints

The next morning Lorelai and Haddie had woken and left long before Christopher even opened his eyes. By the evening hours Christopher's irritation grew as Lorelai refused to answer his calls. He had tried the Inn numerous times but that smug Michel would reply with a casual, "no," each time.

"Why haven't you been answering my calls?" Christopher prodded as soon as the front door opened, revealing Lorelai, Haddie and Gigi.

"I needed time to think Chris, and now isn't the time to discuss this," Lorelai said nodding towards the two young girls.

"No, I am not spending the entire evening avoiding this," Christopher said frustrated, "They can go play for a few minutes."

"Chris, they haven't eaten yet," Lorelai replied exasperated. Christopher stood his ground and told the two girls to go into the kitchen and to wait them for them to come in and start dinner. Lorelai rolled her eyes at his impatience.

"Haddie hasn't eaten since noon and it's almost 6 thirty Chris," Lorelai said.

"They can wait!" Chris shot back, "Lore, you have to know I meant nothing by it. I was just bored one night at the pub with the guys and decided to be stupid with them, but I swear nothing went on.""Really, just one night in a pub?" Lorelai asked.

"Yes, I promise," Christopher said earnestly.

"Bullshit, Christopher! Either you're lying straight to my face right now or you took our kids to a pub with you," Lorelai shook her head.

"What are you talking about?" Christopher asked confused.

"How would our three year old know Julia if you'd only jokingly talked to her once at a pub?" Lorelai asked.

"Oh.." Christopher said looking away.

"That's all you've got buddy?" Lorelai asked, "Oh?""Look, she was a nice girl, we met at the park once with the kids. It was nothing though. We talked. We were friends. I didn't think it would bother you this much! You have male friends, what's the stigma with me?" Christopher questioned.

"The stigma is that you couldn't be friends with her without making up a story that I was freaking dead Chris, God!" Lorelai replied frustrated.

"Lorelaiiiii," the two could hear Gigi calling from the kitchen.

"Just a second hon," Lorelai called back, turning to head into the kitchen. Christopher caught her arm.

"Lore, they can wait," Chris said.

"No, you know what Chris, you can wait. Because unlike you, I am NOT royally pissed off with them," Lorelai replied, faking astonishment.

"Come here now!" Gigi called.

"You can't just avoid this," Christopher said softly.

"I'm not, Chris, trust me, I'm not, it's all I can think about. I am sure as hell not avoiding it. I wish I could get it out of my head but I can't. I don't think you realize how bad this hurts me," Lorelai shook her head as Gigi burst into the room.

"Please, come, I've been calling you!" Gigi said with the slightest but of panic to her voice.

"What's going on?" Lorelai asked.

"Oh of course, just drop everything for them. It's always about them," Chris scoffed.

"They are our CHILDREN, Chris," Lorelai glared, "I would do anything for any of them and if you can't get a grip on reality I think you should take off for the night."

"Where am I supposed to go?" Chris spat back.

"I don't care Chris, I really do not care," Lorelai replied turning her back to him. Chris felt anger surge through him as he stomped out the front door, slamming it shut behind him.

"Lorelai, I'm scared" Gigi said tugging at Lorelai's shirt sleeve.

"Don't worry about your dad, he's just being a grump, nothing for you to worry about," Lorelai smiled softly, not so sure of the truth within her words.

"No, it's Haddie! She won't stop, she's been crying, and she won't STOP!" Gigi said frustrated.

"Do you know what happened to her?" Lorelai said trying to calm Gigi down.

"She was hungry and trying to get ice and she fell," Gigi said worriedly.

Lorelai looked worried as she bolted into the kitchen. Haddie continued crying, "Where did she fall from?"

"The counter, really far down, she hit her head on the floor, is she okay?" Gigi asked absent mindedly patting Haddie's leg as Haddie suddenly threw up.

"We are going to take her to the hospital to check alright?" Lorelai said trying to stay calm in front of her daughters.

Lorelai quickly grabbed the phone. She dialed the number to the ambulance, gave their address, and then did her best to try and keep breathing.

"Honey, can you talk to me?" Lorelai asked looking into Haddie's half open eyes.

"Da nah owie," Haddie mumbled.

"What? Talk normal okay, please?" Gigi asked.

"Go and get your coat and a story book, alright?" Lorelai said.

As the ambulance pulled into the driveway, Lorelai was already calling Christopher for a third time, and it was the third time his phone went to voice mail. She'd already gotten a hold of Rory and her parents but of course her kid's own father couldn't be bothered to answer. After the paramedics came in and began getting Haddie ready for transport she tried Chris a fourth time with no avail.

"Mom!" Gigi called running over to her.

"What?" Lorelai asked, slightly shocked that Gigi had just called her mom. She had never done that before. She didn't even call her own mother that and had opted to call her Sherry.

"The ambulance guy said she had a scissor and that you need to come up to the kitchen," Gigi said importantly.

"A seizure?" Lorelai asked.

"That's what I said," Gigi mumbled angrily.

"I hate waiting," Richard groaned an hour later, as he, Emily and Gigi sat quietly in the waiting room.

"Is Haddie going to die?" Gigi asked randomly.

"Let's hope not," Emily said, realizing this was a possibility. Sure it was a head injury and kids survived those all the time, but there was that chance.

Lorelai came and sat down on the other side of Gigi.

"Any news?" Richard asked.

"She's just going into her MRI and CAT scans," Lorelai mumbled.

"A cat scan? Why is Haddie at the vet?" Gigi asked shocked.

"A CAT scan is a machine for people, it means Computerized Axial Tomography, CAT is just an easier way of saying it, don't worry," Richard said smiling at Gigi.

The small group sat in complete silence until Rory came jostling in, dragging a slightly intoxicated Christopher in behind her.

"What are doing Christopher?" Lorelai asked in disgust.

"I went to the bar because we fought, la dee dah, I didn't realize it was going to be just a dilemma for everyone!" Christopher grumbled.

"It's a dilemma because my baby sister is hurt and your drunk and not even seeming to care," Rory replied. Lorelai stared at Chris is disbelief of his ignorance.

"Oh great, you're still mad at me," Chris rolled his eyes.

"No shit Sherlock," Lorelai mumbled.

"Oh, get over it," Christopher said, his voice rising slightly.

"What is going on?" Emily demanded.

"Get over it? You wouldn't want me saying that to you. What if I had told...Luke or...some other hot guy you were dead, and most likely hit on them?" Lorelai asked.

"You still think that jerk wad is hot?" Christopher said glaring at her.

"What? No! He's just the first person I saw," Lorelai spat, suddenly cluing into the fact the Luke was in all reality walking over to them.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Chris asked, entering attack mode.


	3. Hearts A Mess

Lorelai shot a glare at Christopher, yet she was thinking the same thing. What WAS Luke doing there? They'd barely spoken since the day she had told him she'd slept with Christopher. In fact, they had spoken four times since then. Once, when Lorelai had stopped to see Liz's new baby. Once when Luke had found out she were pregnant. He had offered her his congratulations, but she could see how much it had hurt him. They'd spoken again at Rory's going away party. She had been huge then. It wasn't much of a conversation. He'd asked her how she was, she returned the question. It was awkward for the both of them. They'd spoken again when Haddie had toddled off inside of the grocery store, and low and behold, Luke had been the one to spot her. Seeing Luke talking with her then two year old felt like a kick in the stomach. He had looked so sweet. He softly was talking to her while looking around for someone who looked like they could be her parent. Haddie was staring at him with an intense interest. When Lorelai had rushed over, she could tell Luke was flustered. He had smiled softly and had said, "I should've known she was yours, she looks just like Rory." That was about a year ago.

"Look, I'm not hear to start anything, I just wanted to check to make sure Lorelai and Rory had everything they needed," Luke said.

"You don't think I couldn't have handled that?" Christopher said hotly.

"Well apparently not," Luke replied simply, "The entire town was trying to hunt you down for Rory. You were nowhere to be found. Your kid was scared and I just wanted to make sure she'd gotten to you."

"Oh and you're suddenly so close with Rory?" Christopher asked.

"He's been close to me for years Christopher," Rory growled.

"Oh, you're calling me Chris now huh?" Chris rolled his eyes.

"Yes, Chris, you don't deserve to be called my father. I was beyond worried. We all are here. But you, you haven't even asked about Haddie!" Rory exploded, "At least Luke had good intentions."

"You're just like your mother, nothing is ever good enough," Christopher replied.

"Christopher, now is not the time for this!" Richard butted in.

"Look, I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to stir up any hard feelings, I just wanted to make sure you were alright Rory," Luke nodded before turning to walk away.

"Thank-you Luke," Rory said earnestly, "I'll talk to you later alright?"

"You keep in touch with this guy?" Chris asked.

"Yes," Rory replied simply.

"You do?" Lorelai asked.

"Yeah, I do. Nothing major, just keep him up to date on what I'm doing. I ask about April. Nothing serious," Rory shrugged.

"Perfect," Chris interjected.

"Haddie Gilmore's family?" a nurse asked as she came into the room.

"What can you tell us?" Christopher asked, obviously irritated

"Well, I'm sorry to say this but Haddie is bleeding into her brain. It was very unlikely for this to happen, because of a fall, but it did somehow. Surgery will be needed, but it's very risky considering the bleeding is in an extensive area. If anything goes wrong she could be paralyzed, or her speech could be permanently damaged," the nurse explained slowly.

"Oh my god," Lorelai breathed, her hand covering her mouth.

"She's heading to OR 2 as we speak," the nurse said, "We will try to keep you all updated as much as possible, but we need to get in there as soon as possible."

"I can't lose her," Lorelai cried after the nurse had left.

"Keep positive," Emily said quietly, "She has your personality. She won't give up without a hell of a fight."

An hour later, Lorelai and Christopher were the only two left in the waiting room. Emily and Richard had taken Gigi to get some lunch and Rory was on a caffeine hunt for her mother and herself.

"I'm sorry," Christopher mumbled. Lorelai didn't say anything in response, "You barely been home in a week, and the two weeks before that you left before I got up, and you didn't get home until I was already asleep. It felt like you were gone."

"You still have no right to do things like that though Chris," Lorelai said quietly.

"I know, I'm sorry," Christopher said, "Are we okay?"

"Nothing happened between you two?" Lorelai questioned, "And don't you dare lie to me."

Christopher went quiet for a moment, "We kissed."

He could feel Lorelai's anger swarming around the room. He expected her to yell, slap or punch him, but instead she stood up, picked her and the girl's things up off of the floor, grabbed the keys to their car and left the room. Lorelai made her way into an elevator before her tears began to fall. They slowly slid down her face, then fell to the floor. The doors opened and in walked Sookie.

"Are you okay?" She asked looking at Lorelai's face.

Lorelai shook her head "No" in reply.

"What happened with Haddie? Where's Christopher? I just got your message and I came her as fast as I could," Sookie said.

Lorelai stood still for a moment before replying, "Well, while our daughter was taken in for brain surgery, Christopher graciously opened up and told me that he had in fact kissed another woman. My entire life is falling apart right now. Nothing can just be good. I'm beginning to think it's me. I don't know what I am going to do."

"Well first of all, Haddie is going to be fine. She beat up Davey that one time remember? She's a very tough kid. And Chris kissed someone. Who? When? Why?" Sookie said quickly.

"Julia, our neighbour. Our hot blonde neighbour. He said I hadn't been home in a long time. Weeks. I mean, I know the "just happening" thing, that's how we had started, we were a mistake too" Lorelai began, "I just don't know why he would risk everything. We have a family and we were happy, at least I thought we were."

"I think you answered your own question there Lorelai. You called you and Chris a mistake. The love of your life is never a mistake. Don't even worry about him right now. Just focus on Haddie and making sure she is well," Sookie spoke.

Richard and Emily were downstairs picking at sandwiches with Gigi. Gigi was telling them random stories about school and about things she and Haddie had planned to do over spring break. Richard smiled sadly at the thought that if Haddie wasn't okay, Gigi would be all alone in the messed up world of Christopher Hayden. It had never truly occurred to him that people that little could mean so much to each other, but in a way, now that he thought of it, they meant everything to each other.

"You and Haddie get along quite well don't you?" Richard asked.

"Yeah, she's my best friend, even though she's so little. I'm a big kid but she has a big personality. That's what Lorelai always says," Gigi smiled.

"How have things with your dad been?" Emily asked, trying to pry into the situation.

"Uhm, I'd rather not talk about my dad," Gigi said sadly.

"Why's that?" Richard questioned.

"He's not a very happy man and I want to keep happy so that Haddie has someone who is a happy person to come back to," Gigi explained.

"That's a good reason," Richard smiled at the young girl. Lorelai had done a good job acting as her surrogate mother. Gigi's own mother only bothered to show up every few months for visits. Lorelai had actually done quite well with all of her girls in his opinion.

"Richard," Emily said, after Gigi excused herself to use the washroom, "What did we do?"

"What do you mean darling?" Richard asked.

"We pushed this on her for years. Christopher was always our answer for everything and she was always determined to make it worth without him. Look at this mess around us," Emily huffed, "She was right. I never like to admit it, but she was right all along."


	4. Called Out In The Dark

"Lorelai!" Gigi exclaimed as Lorelai and Sookie walked into the cafeteria, "Is Hattie okay yet? Can I see her soon?"

"Still haven't heard anything kiddo. You guys could go back to the waiting room and see if the doctor has anything to update us with though," Lorelai replied.

"What about you? Won't you come with us?" Gigi asked.

"I can't be up there right now bug," Lorelai said softly, "Rory is going to stay with you though and call me as soon as the doctor gets there. I'm just going to stay in here with some coffee."

"You will not!" Emily scoffed, "That's your kid, you need to be there, you shouldn't be hiding. What's going on?"

"Not in front of Gigi mom," Lorelai warned.

"Fine, alone then," Emily said dragging Lorelai off.

"Ugh, mother," Lorelai whined.

"Lorelai," Emily replied. Lorelai knew her mom wasn't going to budge.

"A woman, named Julia, talked to Haddie and I the other day. Haddie recognized her. Apparently she knew Christopher. Apparently she was told I was no longer in the picture. There were lies and craziness and I haven't quite got it all figured out yet but Christopher kissed another woman. I literally cannot be in a room with him right now and there you go. You are all up to date," Lorelai said quickly.

Lorelai had never seen so much hate flash across anyone's face so quickly.

"Hey kiddo," Rory said softly touching Haddie's arm a few hours later, "How ya feelin'?"

The little girl grunted in response. She had come out of surgery just an hour and a half before and was already awake. Her doctor described her as being to nosy to miss out on any of the action going on around her. Her vitals were strong, yet she had yet to utter a word in the 45 minutes she'd been awake.

"Can you talk for your most beautiful big sister?" she asked.

Haddie grumpily crunched her nose, as if to say, "Get lost."

"Can you talk? Or are you just being a grump?" Rory asked laughing.

"A bump," Haddie softly answered, "A bump on my head, owie."

"Yeah, it hurt I guess huh?" Rory asked relieved. She sounded like the old Haddie. Christopher looked relieved as well.

"Lots, I don't like ice anymore," Haddie said raising her eyebrows slightly, "Falling killed it for me."

"That sucks," Rory smiled, "You can talk still though, we were worried you wouldn't be able to."

"Oh." Haddie said, "But I love to talk. I would never stop!""I'm aware of that," Rory smiled, "I'm going to go get mom for you alright? She just went to take Gigi to Sookie's for the night. She's going to be so happy to hear your little voice again!"

"Hey sweetheart," Chris smiled sitting down beside Haddie, now that the two of them were alone. Things had been hostile, to say the least. Lorelai had not said one word to him since the doctor came in with the news that Haddie come through surgery without complications.

"Hi," Haddie replied exhausted from her day.

"You feeling any better?" Chris asked.

"Yeah, my head doesn't hurt no more," she replied, "Why were you sleeping on the couch? Were you being lazy again?"

"No, remember mommy and daddy fighting?" Christopher asked.

"You said everything was okay," Haddie said with her eyes narrowing.

"Well, we were fighting, I'll admit that, but don't worry everything will work out," Christopher replied. Haddie definitely had Lorelai's quick thinking.

"Okay," Haddie smiled, "Why did you go on the couch?"

"I needed to sleep somewhere," Christopher laughed.

"Why didn't you sleep at Julia's house? You guys like each other," Haddie chirped innocently.

"That wouldn't have gone over so well, sweetie," Christopher laughed.

Lorelai and Rory were now making there way back to Haddie's recovery room.

"Shhh," Lorelai said as they came to the door.

Rory looked somewhat confused as Lorelai stood still, but she quickly realized the intentions of eavesdropping on Christopher.

"You don't like Julia anymore?" Lorelai could hear Haddie ask Christopher.

"No, I can't honey, not if I want to keep you and Rory and Gigi and mommy all in my life," Chris told Haddie.

"Mommy doesn't like Julia?" Haddie asked.

"No, because daddy did a bad thing, he kissed Julia because he was being silly, and daddy should only kiss mommy," Haddie said hoping Haddie would understand.

"You kissed her? Ew." Haddie said loudly.

"I know I suck," Christopher smiled.

"You're a very bad man," Haddie said calmly, almost sounding like a therapist.

"I know," Chris said looking at the ground.

"Do you still love mommy?" Haddie asked, with a tint of worry spread throughout her voice.

"Of course, but sometimes I don't think she loves me back," Chris said not knowing if he should tell Haddie these sort of things.

"Why not? She tells me every night that she loves all of us tons and tons," Haddie said matter of factly.

"Yeah, it's just complicated," Chris mumbled.

"Why'd you get married?" Haddie exclaimed suddenly.

"Where's all this coming from?" Christopher questioned, "You're fairly smart for a three year old."

"Why?" Haddie asked again, ignoring his comment.

"Fine, but you can't tell anyone okay?" Christopher said seriously, "Promise?"

"Promise," Haddie replied, even though she didn't know what promise meant.

"Because you're mommy was going to have you, baby girl. And I was excited to get to meet you. I didn't want your mom to be alone. You're a bit of a handful," Christopher said softly smiling at his daughter.

Outside the room Lorelai could feel flares of tears rising in her eyes. She had always wondered why Christopher had proposed. She told him she was pregnant about a month after she had ended things with him. She had always hoped he had asked her because he had still felt something for her. Now she knew the truth.

Lorelai told Rory to go in and visit with Chris and Haddie, and to tell Chris that she had forgotten something at home and would be back soon.

"Luke, are you busy?" Lorelai whispered into her cell phone.


	5. My Signature Move

"Luke, are you busy?" Lorelai whispered into her cell phone.

"No, just finished closing up the diner," Luke replied, shocked to hear Lorelai's voice on the other end of the phone. There was no response from her, "Lorelai, are you there?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry," Lorelai said, her voice catching in her throat.

"Is everything okay? Did Haddie get out of surgery?" Luke questioned.

"Yeah, she's doing great," Lorelai replied.

"Is it….him?" Luke asked.

"I shouldn't have called, I'm sorry," Lorelai said.

"Wait, don't hang up, what's going on?" Luke asked.

"I screwed things up so badly," Lorelai breathed.

"I can handle it," Luke offered.

"You're the last person I should be bothering, I'm sorry."

The line went dead leaving Luke to ponder what the hell was going on. He knew right away that it was Chris. It had always been Chris and no matter how badly Lorelai had hurt him in the past, he was sure as hell not going to let that idiot break her heart again.

"Mom, are you alright?" Rory asked, coming down the hallways towards her mother, who looked completely broken.

"I just called Luke," Lorelai said in disbelief, "Of all people, I call him. What is wrong with me?"

"Why did you call him?" Rory asked.

Lorelai tells Rory her story of Christopher and Julia, leaving Rory fuming.

"So I called Luke without thinking, I am such an idiot!" Lorelai exclaimed.

"Why's that?" Rory questioned.

"I hurt him Rory. And not in a casual high school or college dating kind of way. We had life plans. Kids involved. I just ditched everything and leapt off with Chris. It's all my fault. It's my fault that I am here at this point and I shouldn't be burdening the one person I hurt to make myself feel better. It's just not right," Lorelai said, her eyes welling with tears.

"Ahem," the two girls could hear someone behind them.

"What do you want?" Rory asked rudely, facing her father.

"I want you two to recognize the fact that I made a mistake and that I feel horribly about it and to work through this. We are a family. Families screw things up and if you want to stay a family you have to fight for it," Christopher said hotly, "Not call loser diner guys right away."

"Dad," Rory scoffed.

"It's okay Rory, It was a mistake I shouldn't have called Luke. You're dad is right, we need to deal with this issue before dealing with anything else," Lorelai said, leaving Chris with a little smirk on his face.

"Don't let him manipulate you mom," Rory said, "What he did was wrong."

"Rory, this is between your mother and I," Chris stepped in.

"Oh really, I thought you said that this was a family matter, am I not part of this family?" Rory questioned.

"Rory," Chris said irritated.

"Rory," Lorelai interjected, not wanting to see a heated dispute between the two, "Your dad is right about the figuring things out between us before involving other people bit, but there is no way in hell I can let this go. We need to figure out a way to be a family, for the girls, but other than that I would like nothing more than to not have anything to do with you Christopher."

And with that, Christopher stomped off, acting like the childish man Lorelai had previously always made excuses for. Enough was enough. It was time to get her life back.


End file.
